We asked our families to share their favorite ideas to celebrate Halloween (with a Catholic twist) and All Saints’ Day. Grab a candy corn and get ready to chew on these creative, Catholic (and oh-so-cute) ideas from readers like you.
Turn traditional games into saint-themed fun
Many participants highlighted simple ways to transform traditional games into saint-themed activities. Leigh Wells Schuelke shared a neat twist for Halloween and All Saints’ Day. In lieu of a regular game of soda-bottle ring toss, throw rings around decorated saint-themed soda bottles, and call it “Halo Toss.” Schuelke shared another game in which the children, dressed as saints, whacked down a serpent dragon pinata. “And, of course, the saints were triumphant!” she said.
Cindy Coleman created a “St. Kateri Stone Rosary” activity for her party. “I outline a rosary with cross from sticks and small/large stone and leave it unfinished. The kids say the next prayer and add a stone toward finishing the rosary,” she said. She also plays “St. Francis Gathers the Animals,” a game for kids to simply toss Beanie Babies to St. Francis in a basket.
Ina Kuster and several other participants created saint-themed guessing jars for her religious education class. Kuster took a jar, decorated it with a picture of a saint and had the kids keep guessing.
Martianne Stanger offered several suggestions for young children: “St. Anthony’s Seek and Find” includes finding medals that are hidden inside a sensory box of beans. She also had blocks for children to build a church, and children can “Pin the Crown on Mary Queen of Saints” with a large image of Mary and sticky notes. In the Lazarus game, kids wrap one another up in sheets or rags…and then unwrap “Lazarus.”
Dress up like a saint
The perfect combination of celebrating Halloween and All Saint’s Day, the ideas are only limited to as many saints as have been canonized. Take a look at the cute kids dressed as their favorite saints in the picture gallery. Most of the children are dressed in homemade costumes.
Enjoy some saintly snacks
Participants in our contest included clever ideas like “St. Peter the Fisherman” cupcakes, “St. Bernadette firewood pretzel sticks,” and our regular contributor, Tracy Bua Smith shared her “Pious Popcorn” and “All Saints are ‘Grape'” snack ideas. And, after guessing how many of course, you can eat all those delicious Mars chocolate bars in that guessing jar for St. Dominic, patron saint of astronomers.
Decorate your doorstep or table
Ana Paula Livingston carved her pumpkin last year to look like the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and Layna McIntosh Halstead decorated her table with cupcakes, and each family member has their own patron saint candle to light. The candles are made from holy cards printed and glued onto candles.
Smith’s centerpiece is filled with cheerfully praying saints, and more creative ideas from her All Saints’ Day party can be found on A Slice of Smith Life blog.